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Friday, 28^thSeptember 2012 – Speaking at the Eurofinas Conference before an audience of around 150 industry leaders gathered in Cannes, France (11-12 October 2012), Lynne Walker, Senior Vice President, Technology and Operations with Genworth (NYSE: GNW) one of the world’s largest providers of lifestyle protection insurance, urged the insurance industry to rally around a cultural change to focus on the end-customer of its products.

“It’s not about a superficial set of changes, but rather a fundamental step-change in approach that’s now required to put the end-customer at the heart of the design and operating process; specifically focusing on reducing customer effort in order to create high customer confidence that’s more sustainable in the long term”, she explained.

Based on her experience in the PC technology sector, most recently at PC giant Dell, Walker drew a parallel between the insurance industry and other customer-facing sectors, including telecoms and retail, where valuable lessons could be learned by the insurance sector.

“There are many examples of industries where competitive pressures drive over commoditisation and standardisation, with players chasing each other down a cost and price curve. Margins get slimmer and consumer choice and service can suffer. But ultimately what customers care about are quality, usability, value and having confidence in the product or service they are buying more than just features and price. Customer knowledge and customer needs must redefine what success looks like and those organisations that move in this direction will emerge as the new market leaders,” said Walker.

Recognising that the customer has to move centre stage, Walker insisted there was still time for the insurance industry to change.

“Our focus is all about improving the overall customer experience. And we are starting to make real progress here by implementing changes that reduce customer effort in the claims process; using the on-line channel to provide choice and ease of use; speeding up interactions by eliminating steps and using plain, straightforward language everywhere. We are redefining the industry standards for managing and measuring claims through the eyes of the customers,” she added.

Referring to research published in the Harvard Business Review, Walker told delegates that when it comes to service, companies create loyal customers by reducing their effort and helping them solve any problem they may have quickly and easily,” concluded Walker.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. In Europe our Lifestyle Protection business is headquartered in London and expands across over 20 European countries, as well as Mexico, Colombia and China.
2. Matthew Dixon, Karen Freeman, and Nicholas Toman, Harvard Business Review, July 2010